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David Slemmons <[log in to unmask]>
Tue, 11 Sep 2001 13:23:57 -0500
text/plain (49 lines)
I had sent this earlier to my daughter, but have since talked for a long
time on the phone. Sorry about any grammar or other mistakes...but i am in
email mode.

What a strange and troubling day. I didn't get much sleep last night. The
dog kept waking me up every hour or two. Finally, at the 2:30AM wake-up
call, Camry and I confronted a skunk in the garage. After about a half
hour, the skunk was gone, but I finally had to leave the dog out because
she was so excited. Of course, because of my internet monitoring, I was the
individual who turned the TV on in the conference room and we were all
sitting there at almost the exact same time we had been there during the
Murrah building attack. We were evacuated around the same time as before.
Today, I drove by the almost empty Murrah monument... with the visions I
had just seen in New York and DC echoing on a giant scale the smoldering
hulk I passed before. But, today -as back then - when I got on the highway
almost everyone was driving with their headlights on. It seemed a
spontaneous expression of people trying to establish a sense of unity in
tragedy. Although there are many individuals such as the rescue workers
that can have a direct impact or giving blood and providing an indirect
impact, most feel helpless in their grief and concern. As I recall people
were driving with their lights on for about two weeks. I also remember on
that same drive home travelling through the scene of devastation left by
the May tornado. Both times the community came together in a pretty
powerful way. Sometimes symbols help in very concrete way.

We still do not know a lot. I remember counseling my colleagues at work
after the Murrah building, not to go looking for revenge in immediate
anger. Already there were reports of Mid-Easterners living in Oklahoma
being held. This is not a time for anger. It is a time for rescue and
grief. Our friend Bud Welch who lost his daughter in the Murrah bombing can
tell that tale far better than I can. I think that your candlelight vigil
is an excellent start. I think that reaching across traditional boundaries
is very important - college reublicans, etc. Those gestures show that our
beliefs are not just political, but personal... and will eventually reap
rewards. Whether, we participate in blood drives, teach-ins, or
whatever.... Unfortunately, too often we act only in times of tragedy....
This is a time for action! Not reaction. Grieve. Build new bridges. Accept
the pain, but act out of Love.... We will be inundated with conspiracies -
political and religious - let us never forget the beliefs we hold.... and
let them guide us toward the same ideals we had yesterday... and prehaps,
turn tragedy into a better world....




Peace,

David Slemmons

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